He liked her laugh. He liked it a lot. It made his tail wag faster.
But then Niks let go of not just one stick, but two. He was after them quickly. The first he caught in the air like he'd done before. The second he had to let land. He ran at it as fast as he could, and worked to fit both into his mouth at the same time. It was awkward and difficult. He struggled at it for a long while before he realized that he had to carry one by a tiny offshoot nub.
As he returned, Evan was holding one stick proudly, the other dragged between his legs. Which made him walk awkwardly. He dropped them both at her feet.
He felt like he could play for the rest of the afternoon. The look on Niks' face when he returned though, made it seem as if she could not. She looked contemplative and distracted. Also, a little cold. Evan realized that she didn't have the giant coat of fur to keep her insulated like he was being. He barely felt the snow anywhere but on the pads of his feet and his nose.
Instead of waiting for her to pick up the branches again, Evan padded a little way away from her and glanced back. He'd lead her to his cabin if she followed.